Good answer: that's a turntable, ya goof!I'll bite.
What the heck is that?
(I mean that in a nice way)
Better answer: If I'm not mistaken, that is an Eminent Technology air-bearing linear tracking tonearm.
Linear tracking - a myth debunked?
- Thread starter Sam Cogley
- Start date
Better answer: If I'm not mistaken, that is an Eminent Technology air-bearing linear tracking tonearm.
Haven't seen nor heard of the Grant Fidelity yet. Interesting though! I'll see if one makes an appearance at AXPONA this year.
The Clearaudio TT-5. Not sure how it works, but it is purely mechanical:
Here is the Bergmann Magne ST air bearing linear arm:
The Clearaudio TT-5. Not sure how it works, but it is purely mechanical:
Here is the Bergmann Magne ST air bearing linear arm:
dosmalo
T-Totaled
This is the MG-1.1 air bearing that's built by a fellow in Georgia and sells on the 'bay. When I decided to take the plunge and become a 'convert' I seriously considered it as it had some really good reviews but after factoring in the long lineage of the ET 2/ 2.5 and the fact that the company still fully supports it and is very responsive, I went with it.Mine came with the set up jig (a little hard to find those) 2 very silent Takatsuki air pumps and a serge tank. I still mounted the pumps inside a cabinet in my living room and use a standard lamp remote to turn the air supply on and off.
I think the MG-1.1 is still an interesting air bearing LT but maybe not as robustly built but I'm just going by the pics I've seen.
The hands on part of pivoted arms that is satisfying (to those who care about such things) is the ability to pick the arm up and change tracks without any delay. I often play a couple of tracks on a side, and like the wild freedom of doing it directly. Linear arms don't usually allow this, though air bearing arms might.
dosmalo
T-Totaled
I can't speak for other air bearings out there but that hasn't changed here. The tactile part remains the same and in some respect better for me as I can look straight down and line it right up with the dead wax between tracks and not miss.
The only thing I'm not sure of is how an air bearing would perform on a suspended table, it could possibly be a completely different animal.
xbart
Super Member
I found an Eminent Technology ET 2 last summer at a local garage sale, it was mounted on a suspended SOTA table.
It sounds like the Eminent Technology ET 2 was often mounted on the SOTA suspended tables.
bimasta
Addicted Member
All the purely mechanical linear arms I know of roll on wheels. Usually just bare-metal high-grade roller-bearings, rolling on a super-smooth surface, often glass. They're often set up slightly tilted downwards towards the center of the LP, so the wheels roll downhill — gravity thus helps overcome inertia, so the cantilever doesn't take all the stress as the driver of the arm's movement inwards.
dosmalo
T-Totaled
I know there are a few members here that have that set up and I've noticed ET shows them mounted on SOTA tables on their site. My conjecture about suspended tables is a purely personal one.
I do know that while mounting mine and setting it up on a solid platform table I became aware of a whole new understanding of what level meant.
Once that was all achieved day to day operation has been easy-peasy and a pleasure.
I do know that while mounting mine and setting it up on a solid platform table I became aware of a whole new understanding of what level meant.
Once that was all achieved day to day operation has been easy-peasy and a pleasure.
petehall347
the brandy coffee man
what are the records designed to be played on ? just a thought like about the whole thing . p.s i like the idea about doing it both ways idea for some strange reason .
whatever happened to the cylinder idea ?
whatever happened to the cylinder idea ?
A turntable.
I don't feel that was a concern back in the days of shellac, as all turntables used pivoted arms (even if those arms were hollow, using a steel needle on one end and a horn on the other). As for how they were recorded back in the acoustical (or pre-electrical) era, where I think they also recorded into a horn and etched a slab of wax, those could have been pivoted also. But I know that any modern cutting lathe in the LP era has been cut on a linear sled, so in theory a linear tracking turntable mirrors how the record was cut.
Not sure, although there were a couple of things that come to mind. First, imagine storing 1,000 LPs. vs. 1,000 cylinders...that would have taken a lot of space! However, cylinders were cut and played back using a "hill and dale" system, where the stylus moved up and down in the groove, not side to side (laterally) as they did on the original monaural disc recordings. (That would change with the stereo LP, where the cartridge moved in both lateral and vertical directions in order to create the stereo effect.)
Just a wild guess, but the hill and dale system on a cylinder might have resulted in a noisier playback, considering both the mechanical smoothness of the rotation, plus the purity of the cylinder material itself. I get the feeling the disc was perhaps a little less susceptible to noise than the cylinder.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
A turntable.
I don't feel that was a concern back in the days of shellac, as all turntables used pivoted arms (even if those arms were hollow, using a steel needle on one end and a horn on the other). As for how they were recorded back in the acoustical (or pre-electrical) era, where I think they also recorded into a horn and etched a slab of wax, those could have been pivoted also. But I know that any modern cutting lathe in the LP era has been cut on a linear sled, so in theory a linear tracking turntable mirrors how the record was cut.
Not sure, although there were a couple of things that come to mind. First, imagine storing 1,000 LPs. vs. 1,000 cylinders...that would have taken a lot of space! However, cylinders were cut and played back using a "hill and dale" system, where the stylus moved up and down in the groove, not side to side (laterally) as they did on the original monaural disc recordings. (That would change with the stereo LP, where the cartridge moved in both lateral and vertical directions in order to create the stereo effect.)
Just a wild guess, but the hill and dale system on a cylinder might have resulted in a noisier playback, considering both the mechanical smoothness of the rotation, plus the purity of the cylinder material itself. I get the feeling the disc was perhaps a little less susceptible to noise than the cylinder.
Big issue with cylinders, not very mass reproducible. Disc records could be stamped out easily. And Edison's puritan tastes on A&R also didn't help Edison sales long term.
Update of my late 80s Souther TQ-1 (Clearaudio purchased design) . The arm slides effortlessly across the races. Arm tower pivots upward to the right to change disc.
Here's a video of a fancier version showing the operation which works essentially the same as mine:
Harry Pearson used the Clearaudio Statement with its linear arm for many years. In this case, the entire arm tower moved rearwards. It was quite spectacular to hear and play with. It was massive at about 800 lbs. The platter assembly gimbaled like a ceiling fan when you nudged it ever so slightly. Also the upper platter was driven magnetically from the lower drive platter.
Pio1980
AK Member
There is a thin stick, about three inches, like a "T" headed swizzle stick.
It's a short armtube, but it's an armtube. The resonances would likely be must higher in frequency than in a longer arm tube, and probably more easily damped, but it appears that the counterweight stub is significantly longer and thinner than usual, and it may be a more important source of resonance problems. I assume it's longer because the counterweight needs to be pretty thin to fit between the record and the arm mechanism.
All that said, I suspect that the arm doesn't handle warped records well. Obviously no one thinks that badly warped records are good, but most records have some imperfections in flatness. So it is an important consideration for arm designers.
All that said, I suspect that the arm doesn't handle warped records well. Obviously no one thinks that badly warped records are good, but most records have some imperfections in flatness. So it is an important consideration for arm designers.